| English Dictionary |
GLAD (gladder, gladdest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
, gladdest Dictionary entry overview: What does glad mean?
• GLAD (noun)
The noun GLAD has 1 sense:
1. any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated
Familiarity information: GLAD used as a noun is very rare.
• GLAD (adjective)
The adjective GLAD has 4 senses:
1. showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
2. eagerly disposed to act or to be of service
3. feeling happy appreciation
4. cheerful and bright
Familiarity information: GLAD used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated
Classified under:
Nouns denoting plants
Synonyms:
glad; gladiola; gladiolus; sword lily
Hypernyms ("glad" is a kind of...):
iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)
Holonyms ("glad" is a member of...):
genus Gladiolus (gladiolas)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: gladdest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
Context example:
a glad occasion
Similar:
gladsome (experiencing or expressing gladness or joy)
Also:
cheerful (being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits)
Antonym:
sad (experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness)
Derivation:
gladness (experiencing joy and pleasure)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Eagerly disposed to act or to be of service
Synonyms:
glad; happy
Context example:
glad to help
Similar:
willing (disposed or inclined toward)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Feeling happy appreciation
Context example:
glad of the fire's warmth
Similar:
grateful; thankful (feeling or showing gratitude)
Derivation:
gladness (experiencing joy and pleasure)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Cheerful and bright
Synonyms:
beaming; glad
Context example:
a glad May morning
Similar:
cheerful (being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits)
Derivation:
gladness (experiencing joy and pleasure)
Context examples
With all my heart, said the huntsman; I am sure I shall be glad to save you, for I could not have shot you.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Martin had many times to be glad that Brissenden was dead.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
If any person in this hall dares to doubt my veracity, I shall be glad to have a few words with him after the lecture. (Liar!)
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Well, I’m very glad to see that you have got the rascal.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I declare she talked to me once like something mad, or like a fiend—no child ever spoke or looked as she did; I was glad to get her away from the house.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
I'm glad you began at once, and hope you will keep on.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Neither did I find the emperor at all displeased; and I discovered, by a certain accident, that he was very glad of my resolution, and so were most of his ministers.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
I kept my letter open, that I might send you word how Louisa bore her journey, and now I am extremely glad I did, having a great deal to add.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
But there is, and not so long till then; and we'll see who'll be glad to have a hostage when it comes to that.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
I’ll run down to Mr. Beddoes in Hampshire. He’ll be as glad to see me as you were, I daresay.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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"He who studies does not waste his time." (Corsican proverb)